Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/five-important-lessons-i-learned-during-the-process-of-creating-new-child-care-centers/5016459/
Building new early care and education centers can be a daunting endeavor for those of us who know a great deal about educating young children and very little about the complex issues surrounding constructing commercial buildings. Over 20 years ago I decided to expand my successful child care business into a second location. We purchased five acres on a hilly site about 20 miles away, planning to transform an existing house and small ranch into a large child care center. I had no idea of the challenges ahead of me.Our expansion quickly turned into a nightmare when we realized our consultant had as little experience in developing child care sites as we did. During the process, we came dangerously close to losing our entire investment. I finally took on the project myself and, through trial and error, learned what it takes to develop a quality site for children.
Using this experience, I created three more child care programs. My projects ranged from designing and constructing a new facility to renovating a shopping center storefront. These projects, from the planning process through the actual construction, took from many months
to over a year to complete.
Over the years, above all I recognized ...